'13 Hours' tells the story of incredible heroism in Benghazi, without all the politics

The new film "13 Hours" focuses on the ground-level heroics of
six Americans who saved lives during the Sep. 11, 2012 terrorist
attack in Benghazi, Libya.

But it leaves out most of the political blaming,
grandstanding, and investigations in the years since, a choice
that makes the politically-charged film just as interesting
to watch for liberals as it will be for conservatives.

Much like Director Michael Bay's 2001 film "Pearl Harbor,"
viewers already know a little bit of what they are getting
into. At some point in the film, you know there will be a major
attack that tests many of the protagonists, and "13 Hours: The
Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" shows the attack and response in
typical Bay fashion, with heavy gunfights and explosions.

"Well, the real event had plenty of explosions. So it's not
like he had to come up with any," Mark "Oz" Geist, a former
Marine-turned-contractor portrayed in the film, told Rolling Stone.

The film is much more than big booms and no
substance. It starts with the introduction of "Jack Silva,"
a pseudonymous ex-Navy SEAL who arrives in Libya and joins a
group of other ex-military types now working as security
contractors for the CIA.

Through Silva (played surprisingly well by John Krasinski),
we get the lay of the land. In Benghazi, the State Department has
a temporary mission facility built into a lavish mansion. But
since it's not a "consulate" or an "embassy," it gets far less
security support. Meanwhile, the CIA has a more heavily-guarded
annex just a mile away, where operatives gather intelligence and
try their best to get surface-to-air missiles taken off the black
market.

Paramount
Pictures

In the first half of the film, we come to know our main
characters: Our six security contractors are the big, strong
types with loving families and military backgrounds who have
to deal with "Bob," the CIA station chief who is mainly annoyed
by them and their perceived "cowboy" world view.

Forget about the boogeyman blamed after the attack,
whether it was an anti-Islamic film, then-Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton, or Al Qaeda. In "13 Hours," the main source of
tension comes from Bob, a CIA officer trying to keep a low
profile until his upcoming retirement.

The tension is quite apparent minutes after the mission
facility is overrun, and the contractors, seeing flames and
hearing gunfire, practically beg Bob for permission to drive the
mile up the road and save the day. "Stand down!" he tells
them.

It's a moment in the film that will further
infuriate conservatives, as many believe a "stand down"
order was issued to any rescue attempts that night. Liberals will
likely view the scene as an order not coming from
Hillary Clinton or others in the Obama administration, but
from a government bureaucrat trying to play it safe.

(It's worth noting here that a Republican-controlled
intelligence panel found there was no "stand down" order given,
though the contractors maintain their version of events).

Paramount
Pictures

Politics aside, the film is likely to be one of the biggest
patriotic blockbusters of the year. Much like "American
Sniper," it stays with the operators on the ground, and often
leaves out the nuance of bigger picture. "They're not
coming" or a variation is said throughout the movie in reference
to US military support, represented mostly by nameless
generals talking about sending in help during countless
meetings.

The film (and book it's based on) goes
to great lengths to demonstrate the military should have been
there. After a CIA officer asks for F-16s to just fly over
and scare away the attackers, the film cuts to jets sitting,
unmoved on a dark runway. But the audience will likely not
connect Libyans' access to surface-to-air missiles with the
danger to such a jet, were it to appear. Former Defense
Secretary Robert Gates even said he would not approve such a request, given the high threat
level.

"That [air support] was available," Kris "Tonto" Paronto, a
former Army Ranger and contractor portrayed in the
film, told Men's Journal. "I've used
it before during other operations. I don't think that they — and
I don't know who 'they' are, if it's the State Department, the
administration, the Department of Defense, the CIA — at least
initially thought that it was going to be as bad as it
was."

Perhaps the biggest problems with what happened in Benghazi were
in the planning beforehand. No doubt more could have been done to
protect Ambassador Chris Stevens at his facility, a compound
where he had just two State Department security agents and Libyan
nationals guarding the front gate, which they abandon almost
immediately after the attack.

Now four years after the attack, who you blame for those
shortcomings is likely to cut down partisan
lines. But this is not a film set in Washington. It is a
film that puts you on the ground in Libya, showing off the
incredible heroism from six Americans who fought back against
overwhelming odds.

It also serves as a fitting tribute to the sacrifices of two of
those men who lost their lives: Glen "Bub" Doherty and Tyone
"Rone" Woods, both ex-SEALs killed by a mortar explosion late in
the battle. The ambassador, Chris Stevens, and State Department
agent Sean Smith, died from smoke
inhalation after their facility was set on fire by
militants.

"I don't know how you survived out there," a CIA officer tells
Jack after the battle. "But I know how we did."

But I think the film, and audience reaction, can be summed up in
one quote from the CIA station chief to Jack, as he leaves
Benghazi. Before stepping onto a plane headed for home,
he turns to Jack and tells him, "I'm proud to know Americans
like you."

That's what most people leaving the theater will remember, I
think. Their focus will not be on the politics or the controversy
afterward. It will be on the American "secret warriors" we don't
even know who do extraordinary things.